Sarah LaBrie was in her early thirties when her mother was found on a highway outside Houston, screaming at passing cars and paranoid that she would be murdered by invisible assailants. She was ultimately diagnosed with schizophrenia—and in an instant, the entirety of LaBrie’s childhood came into sharp focus. In her harrowing, clear-sighted, and painfully honest debut memoir, NO ONE GETS TO FALL APART (Publication Date: October 22, 2024; $27.99), LaBrie traces a year spent grappling with the enormity of her mother’s diagnosis. With compassion and vulnerability, she reflects on the consequences of being raised by someone with mental illness, processes her own obsessive behavior and unhealthy ambition, and examines her fear of inheriting the disorder or passing it along to her own future children.   In childhood, LaBrie’s relationship with her mother is marked at turns by violence and all-consuming closeness. She’s erratic, easily angered and cruel, but also loving and protective, committed to LaBrie’s education and artistry and to making huge sacrifices as a single mom so her daughter could lead a stable life. Digging into the events that led to her psychotic break, LaBrie traces the line from the dysphoria that plagued her great-grandmother, a granddaughter of slaves, to her own experience with depression as a scholarship student at Brown. At the same time, she navigates a decades-long fixation on a novel she can’t finish but can’t abandon, her complicated feelings about her white partner, and a fraught friendship colored by betrayal. Spanning the globe from Houston’s Third Ward to Paris to New York to Los Angeles, and touching on work by James Baldwin, Franz Kafka and Walter Benjamin, NO ONE GETS TO FALL APART is an unflinching chronicle of one woman’s attempt to forge a new future by making sense of history.     A writer from Houston, Sarah LaBrie’s libretti have been performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and her fiction appears in Guernica, The Literary Review, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She now lives in Los Angeles where she has written for television shows including Minx, Blindspotting, Made for Love, and Love, Victor. “In 2017, I learned from my grandmother that my mother had been experiencing schizophrenic delusions for months,” she explains. “We were estranged and no one told me, because no one thought it was a big deal. That same year, my best friend shared private information with the world that I wasn’t ready to reveal, then ‘broke up with me’ when I found myself unable to talk about it with her. I was working a job I hated while my friends all seemed to be coming into their own, and my partner, the son of prominent psychology professors from Boston, had grown up with a life so different from mine I didn’t think he would ever understand. I started writing the book out of loneliness. I wanted to reconstruct all these broken parts into layers as opposed to puzzle pieces. I wanted to convey that there are many different ways to understand the past and how it makes us who we are.” GO DEEPER Visit www.BlackMarketReads.com  

In this episode of Black Market Reads: On Health Lissa and Bukata talk with poet Danez Smith about his latest work, BLUFF. Written after two years of artistic silence, during which the world came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Minneapolis became the epicenter of protest following the murder of George Floyd, Bluff is Danez Smith's powerful reckoning with their role and responsibility as a poet and with their hometown of the Twin Cities. This is a book of awakening out of violence, guilt, shame, and critical pessimism to wonder and imagine how we can strive toward a new existence in a world that seems to be dissolving into desolate futures. Smith brings a startling urgency to these poems, their questions demanding a new language, a deep self-scrutiny, and virtuosic textual shapes. A series of ars poetica gives way to "anti poetica" and "ars america" to implicate poetry's collusions with unchecked capitalism. A photographic collage accrues across a sequence to make clear the consequences of America's acceptance of mass shootings. A brilliant long poem--part map, part annotation, part visual argument--offers the history of Saint Paul's vibrant Rondo neighborhood before and after officials decided to run an interstate directly through it.   Bluff is a kind of manifesto about artistic resilience, even when time and will can seem fleeting, when the places we most love--those given and made--are burning. In this soaring collection, Smith turns to honesty, hope, rage, and imagination to envision futures that seem possible. Danez Smith is the author of three previous poetry collections, including Homie, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Don't Call Us Dead, winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection and a finalist for the National Book Award. Our production team for this episode includes co producers/ Lissa Jones and Edie French, co-host/Bukata Hayes, technical director/Paul Auguston, The Voice/Yo Derek, and our artist of inspiration/Ta-coumba T. Aiken. We thank Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota for supporting On Health focusing on the intersection of health, race, and culture. Black Market Reads: On Health is a collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross’ long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible.   

In this episode Lissa and Bukata talk with author Taiyon J. Coleman author of Traveling Without Moving: Essays from a Black Woman Trying to Survive in America ( University of Minnesota Press). In Traveling without Moving, Coleman shares intimate essays from her life: her childhood in Chicago—growing up in poverty with four siblings and a single mother. She writes about being the only Black student in a prestigious and predominantly White creative writing program, about institutional racism and implicit bias in writing instruction, about the violent legacies of racism in the U.S. housing market, about the maternal health disparities seen across the country and their implication in her own miscarriage. She explores what it means to write her story and that of her family—an act at once a responsibility and a privilege—bringing forth the inherent contradictions between American ideals and Black reality. Our production team for this episode includes co producers/ Lissa Jones and Edie French, co-host/Bukata Hayes, technical director/Paul Auguston, The Voice/Yo Derek, and our artist of inspiration/Ta-coumba T. Aiken. We thank Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota for supporting On Health focusing on the intersection of health, race, and culture. Black Market Reads: On Health is a collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross’ long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible.  VISIT https://blackmarketreads.com/ for GO DEEPER insights.

In this episode of Black Market Reads: On Health Lissa and Bukata talk with author Sarai Johnson about her debut novel, Grown Women (Harper Collins 2024). Join us in this lively and thoughtful conversation about what it means to move on—or not move on—from trauma. What it means to ask for forgiveness, what true forgiveness means, how anger can manipulate our relationships, and what happens after the trauma and how it travels through bloodlines. Tracing four generations of remarkable black women, Johnson follows the family across the decades as they grapple with motherhood and daughterhood, inherited trauma, and the deeply ingrained wounds that divide them while they attempt to redefine happiness and healing for themselves. Exploring how race, gender, and class can influence familial relationships, and how pain—and hope—can be handed down from mother to daughter. Black Market Reads is produced by The Givens Foundation for African-American Literature in partnership with iDream.tv.  Funding for Black Market Reads: On Health is provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross’ long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible. For Go Deeper information and more episodes visit BlackMarketReads.com  

1         In this episode of Black Market Reads: On Health, Lissa and Bukata talk with Dr. Rachel Hardeman. Dr. Rachel Hardeman is a Tenured Professor & Researcher, Speaker & Thought Leader, Educator & Author on all things health equity. As the Blue Cross Endowed Professor of Health & Racial Equity, Dr. Hardeman’s goal is to manifest racial justice so that all people, especially Black women and girls, can live their full greatness and glory. As Founding Director of the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity (CARHE, pronounced "care") at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Hardeman’s work is centered on the notion that the work of antiracism is fueled by love. She was named as one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2024.      Learn more in the GO DEEPER section of our website: https://blackmarketreads.com/  

This episode of Black Market Reads was recorded before a live audience at the historic Capri Theater in North Minneapolis. Lissa talks with author Karen Felicia Nance about her latest book Ethel Ray: Living in the White, Gray and Black, the story of her grandmother's contributions to Civil Rights. Ethel Ray’s world was a white world. She was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, where her family lived a life filled with marginalization, prejudice, and racism. She experienced constant comparison to whiteness—a place that held no space for her Black Southern father, William Henry Ray, or her white Swedish mother, Inga Ray. Ethel Ray: Living in the White, Gray, and Black is a biography and coming-of-age story of Ethel and of her family’s life before, during, and after the horrific lynching of three young Black circus workers—Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie—on June 15, 1920. Learn more, visit: www.BlackMarketReads.com for GO DEEPER content Black Market Reads is produced by The Givens Foundation for African American Literature in partnership with iDream.TV. Black Market Reads is made possible through the generous support of our individual donors and the voters of Minnesota, through the Minnesota State Arts Board with support from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.  

In this episode Lissa and Bukata talk with Author Dolen Perkins-Valdez about her latest book Take My Hand. As a pre-eminent chronicler of American historical life, Dolen talks about her research, her passion for uplifting the authentic voice and the responsibility we have for the fallout of our good deeds. Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a profoundly moving novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible wrong done to her patients, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wench.  Black Market Reads is produced by The Givens Foundation for African-American Literature in partnership with iDream.tv.  Funding for Black Market Reads: On Health is provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross’ long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible.  

In this inaugural episode of Black Market Reads: On Health, Lissa Jones introduces her series co-host Bukata Hayes, Vice President and Chief Equity Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Together they welcome their guest Linda Villarosa, a Pulitzer Prize Finalist and contributor to the NYT 1619 Project. There’s an alarming saying in medical circles that Black people in the US “live sicker and die quicker.” Linda Villarosa, explores this phenomenon in her book UNDER THE SKIN: The Hidden Toll of Racism on Health in America. Villarosa finds that erroneous beliefs about Black bodies, dating from the time of enslavement, continue to influence medical practices today. Coping with the daily stress of racism ages Black people prematurely. And racist beliefs held by doctors and other medical professionals often keep Black people from getting the care they need. Black Market Reads is produced by the Givens Foundation for African-American Literature in partnership with iDream.tv. Funding for this series is provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross’ long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible. Series artwork created by Ta-coumba T. Aiken  

In this episode Lissa welcomes co-host Bukata Hayes as they explore the power of storytelling and the nourishment of soulful food with author Rose McGee. ROSE MCGEE, founder of Sweet Potato Comfort Pie, travels across the United States to deliver pies and nurture relationships. She was featured in the 2015 PBS documentary A Few Good Pie Places. After George Floyd’s murder in 2020, her caring community pie baking and delivery gained recognition from NBC Nightly News, Ms McGee resides in Golden Valley, MiN, where she was named “Citizen of the Year”.

How special education used disability labels to marginalize Black students in public schools The Unteachables examines the overrepresentation of Black students in special education over the course of the twentieth century. Excavating the deep-seated racism embedded in both the public school system and public policy, it explores the discriminatory labeling of Black students, and how it indelibly contributed to special education disproportionality, to student discipline and push-out practices, and to the school-to-prison pipeline effect. Keith A. Mayes is associate professor of African American & African Studies and faculty affiliate in sociocultural studies in education at the University of Minnesota. He is author of Kwanzaa: Black Power and the Making of the African American Holiday Tradition. GO DEEPER www..BlackMarketReads.com

More About Seph Rodney Seph Rodney, PhD was born in Jamaica, and came of age in the Bronx, New York. He has an English degree from Long Island University, Brooklyn; a studio art MFA from the University of California, Irvine; and a PhD in museum studies from Birkbeck College, University of London. While in London, he created, produced, and hosted a radio show called The Thread. Seph Rodney, PhD, is a former senior critic and opinion editor for Hyperallergic. He has written for the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and other publications. He is featured on the podcast The American Age.  His book, The Personalization of the Museum Visit, was published by Routledge in 2019. In 2020 he won the Rabkin Arts Journalism Prize. In 2022 he won the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. THANKS TO: Walker Art Center iDream.TV Platform Arts  

From cell phone footage of police killing unarmed Black people to leaked racist messages and even comments from friends and family on social media, online communication exposes how racism operates in a world that pretends to be colorblind. In When the Hood Comes Off, Rob Eschmann blends rigorous research and engaging personal narrative to examine the effects of online racism on communities of color and society, and the unexpected ways that digital technologies enable innovative everyday tools of antiracist resistance. In this episode Lissa talks with Dr. Rob Eschmann about When the Hood Comes Off: Racism and Resistance in the Digital Age (University of California Press, 2023), his book exploring racism in the digital age. Rob Eschmann is a writer, scholar, filmmaker, and educator from Chicago. He is Associate Professor of Social Work and a member of the Data Science Institute at Columbia University, as well as Faculty Associate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.

Two-time Sue Grafton Memorial Award-winner Tracy Clark introduces readers to FALL (Thomas & Mercer), a hard-boiled, page-turning thriller featuring Chicago Police Detective Harriet Foster, a Black woman in a male-dominated department who, with a new female partner, must stop a killer targeting Chicago aldermen.

Rising to accept a prestigious award, Jody Lulich wondered what to say. Explain how he’d been attracted to veterinary medicine? Describe how caring for helpless, voiceless animals in his own shame and pain provided a lifeline, a chance to heal himself as well? Lulich tells his story in In the Company of Grace, a memoir about finding courage in compassion and strength in healing—and power in finally confronting the darkness of his youth.

In this episode, presented with a live audience in partnership with Magers & Quinn Booksellers, Lissa talks with Minnesota Attorney General and author, Keith Ellison, about his latest book detailing the trial of Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd exploring why this book is a vital contribution not just to the literature of the Floyd trial, but to that of police reform generally.     

In this episode, Lissa talks with author Sherrie Fernandez-Williams about her latest book, Goddess of the Whole Self, inspirations and origin stories. Go Deeper at www.BlackMarketReads.com

In this episode Lissa sits down with Davu Underwood Seru, the newly appointed Curator of the Archie Givens Sr. Collection of African American Literature and Life at the University of Minnesota. This Collection includes novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays, literary criticism, periodicals, and biographies that span nearly 250 years of American culture -with particular strength in the areas of the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement. With tens of thousands of archival and manuscript materials that document the history of black literature and culture, the Givens Collection is an invaluable community and scholarly resource. In this episode we explore the collection and meet Davu Seru, musician, composer, author and recently named Curator of the Givens Collection.

In this previously unpublished episode, Lissa talks with author Rachel Howzell Hall during her visit to the Loft's inaugural Wordplay Festival, exploring issues of crime and passion in her 2019 novel They All Fall Down (Forge Books). Rachel Howzell Hall is a noteworthy author from Los Angeles, The United States, who is famous for writing thriller, mystery, literature & fiction, and crime fiction novels. She has written 7 critically acclaimed novels in her career, which include the books of the Detective Elouise Norton novel series. The 3rd book of this series was the receiver of the coveted Kirkus Star. One more book from the same series was included in the list of the Los Angeles Times’ top books to read in the summer. The New York Times has praised the chief protagonist of the series, Elousie Norton, by describing her as a formidable fighter and a person that everyone would want to have by their side. In addition to writing this popular book series, author Hall has collaborated with James Patterson for writing the novel, The Good Sister. Hall is known to be a featured writer on the acclaimed series of the NPR. Author Hall has also served in AWP’s Writers’ Program in the role of a mentor. Currently, she is serving on the panel of the board of directors of the MWA.  Author Hall was born in Los Angeles, California. During her childhood days, she used to always keep a pen with her and used to write everywhere, especially the places she felt like writing on. Hall used to fill her notebooks, loose leaf papers, her brother’s yearbook, and in church bulletins. She never used to write on freeway overpasses, buildings, or walls as she used to consider it as graffiti. For a period of 4 years, author Hall has lived in Santa Cruz. The episode also includes a brief conversation with founding director Steph Opitz, about the origins of the 1st Wordplay Festival.  

In this episode Lissa talks with Santi Elijah Holley about his book An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created. An enlightening history of the rise and lasting impact of Black liberation groups in America, as seen through the Shakurs, one of the movement’s most prominent and fiercely creative families, home to Tupac and Assata, and a powerful incubator for today’s activism, scholarship, and artistry. They have been celebrated, glorified, and mythologized. They have been hailed as heroes, liberators, and freedom fighters. They have been condemned, pursued, imprisoned, exiled, and killed. But the true and complete story of the Shakur family—one of the most famous names in contemporary Black American history—has never been told. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY has reported for more than a decade on the intersec­tion of culture, music, race, religion, and politics. His work has appeared in numerous national and inter­national outlets, including The Atlantic, The New Re­public, the Economist, the Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post. Holley is the recipient of grants from PEN America and the Robert B. Silvers Foundation, and he was awarded an Oregon Literary Fellowship for nonfiction. He lives in Los Angeles. Learn more www.BlackMarketReads.com  

Charlayne Hunter-Gault is an American civil rights activist, journalist and former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, CNN, and the Public Broadcasting Service. Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes were the first African-American students to attend the University of Georgia. In this episode she and Lissa discuss her life's work, her philosophy, and her latest book -My People: Five Decades Writing About Black Lives

In this episode Lissa talks with Dr. Shaun M. Anderson, about his debut publication The Black Athlete Revolt: The Sport Justice Movement in the Age of #Black Lives Matter (Rowman and Littlefield, 2023). The Black Athlete Revolt is the first book to take a historical and contemporary look at how Black athletes have used their influence to move beyond protests and create substantial change for Black Americans. Spanning from the civil rights movement to today, this book reveals the ever evolving and important role of Black athlete activism. Specifically, The Black Athlete Revolt explores the influence of black athletes since the late 19th century, through the Civil Rights Movement, and into today’s #BlackLivesMatter movement. As society fights to go from protest to policy reform, the revitalization of athlete activism in recent years has sparked a new platform: The Sport Justice Movement. This book details the ascension of this movement, where it is presently, and what’s next. Go Deeper - visit www.BlackMarketReads.com  

In this episode Lissa talks with playwright and author Pearl Cleage about Blues for an Alabama Sky, her current work and references to inspirations and influencers including Langston Hughes, Stacey Abrams, Ntozake Shange, Viola Davis, audience development and more. Blues for an Alabama Sky is playing on the Wurtele Thrust stage at the Guthrie through March 12, 2023 Tickets: https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/performance-calendar/ Go Deeper www.BlackMarketReads.com 

In celebration of Black History Month, Lissa was invited by Books and Books to interview Dr. Clarence Lusane about his recent work. Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy, (City Lights 2023). Join us for this in depth conversation. Link to purchase the book: https://shop.booksandbooks.com/book/9780872868854

Dripping with Southern atmosphere and blistering suspense, Wanda M. Morris’ sophomore outing proves she is a “writer to watch” (Publishers Weekly).  About ANYWHERE YOU RUN: It’s the summer of 1964 and three innocent men are brutally murdered for trying to help Black Mississippians secure the right to vote. Against this backdrop, twenty-two year old Violet Richards finds herself in more trouble than she’s ever been in her life. Suffering a brutal attack of her own, she kills the man responsible. But with the color of Violet’s skin, there is no way she can escape Jim Crow justice in Jackson, Mississippi. Before anyone can find the body or finger her as the killer, she decides to run. With the help of her white beau, Violet escapes. But desperation and fear leads her to hide out in the small rural town of Chillicothe, Georgia, unaware that danger may be closer than she thinks.   Back in Jackson, Marigold, Violet’s older sister, has dreams of attending law school. Working for the Mississippi Summer Project, she has been trying to use her smarts to further the cause of the Black vote. But Marigold is in a different kind of trouble: she’s pregnant and unmarried. After news of the murder brings the police to her door, Marigold sees no choice but to flee Jackson too. She heads North seeking the promise of a better life and no more segregation. But has she made a terrible choice that threatens her life and that of her unborn child?    Two sisters on the run—one from the law, the other from social shame. What they don’t realize is that there’s a man hot on their trail. This man has his own brand of dark secrets and a disturbing motive for finding the sisters that is unknown to everyone but him . . .

In Twenty Dollars and Change, Lusane offers a searing examination of what the fight to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the twenty-dollar bill reveals about race, class, and social justice in America today. Lusane gives voice to the millions of Americans who mobilized for the “Tubman twenty,” becoming a part of the long legacy of people of color and women challenging symbols of patriarchy, racism, and white supremacy. He also discusses the movement that emerged in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, who was arrested for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill.   Lusane argues that while Andrew Jackson’s image represents a flawed vision of democracy that tolerates white supremacy, Harriet Tubman’s represents the demand for gender equity, racial justice, and the struggle of people working for social inclusion and economic fairness. With insight and urgency, Lusane explains how national symbols in support of social justice serve to unify and strengthen us as a people.    Clarence Lusane is a Professor and former Chairman of Howard University’s Department of Political Science. For more than forty years, he has written about and been active in national and international human rights, anti-racism politics, Diaspora engagements, U.S. foreign policy, democracy building, and social justice issues such as education, criminal justice, and drug policy. He has served as a political consultant to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and many elected officials. He is also a former Commissioner on the DC Commission on African American Affairs. His most recent book, The Black History of the White House, received praise from The Washington Post, NPR’s Morning Edition, USA Today and The Boston Globe, among others. Dr. Lusane was also recently interviewed on The Scholars.   

Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, and Octavia Butler, a biting social commentary from the acclaimed author of Lakewood that speaks to our times—a piercing dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in which witches are real and single women are closely monitored. Megan Giddings has degrees from University of Michigan and Indiana University. In 2018, she was a recipient of a Barbara Deming Memorial fund grant for feminist fiction. Her novel, Lakewood, was published by Amistad in 2020. It was one of New York Magazine’s 10 best books of 2020, one of NPR’s best books of 2020, a Michigan Notable book for 2021, was a nominee for two NAACP Image Awards, and a finalist for a 2020 LA Times Book Prize in The Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction category. In 2021, she was named one of Indiana University’s 20 under 40. In 2022, Megan has an essay in The Lonely Stories edited by Natalie Eve Garrett (Catapult) and her second novel, The Women Could Fly (Amistad), was published on August 9th, 2022. She lives in the Midwest. This episode was recorded before a live audience at Magers & Quinn Booksellers in Minneapolis, on August 9, 2022, celebrating the launch of The Women Could Fly.

In this episode Lynn Nottage speaks with BMR Host, Lissa Jones during the run of her play Sweat, performed at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Lynn Nottage is a playwright and a screenwriter. She is the first, and remains the only, woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. Her plays have been produced widely in the United States and throughout the world. Most recently, Nottage premiered MJ the Musical, directed by Christopher Wheeldon and featuring the music of Michael Jackson, more … http://www.lynnnottage.com/about.html

Kristin Henning is a nationally recognized legal scholar and activist in juvenile justice reform. As the Blume Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown, she advocates for reform in the juvenile and criminal legal systems to fight the criminalization of Black adolescence. Henning explores the devastating long-term consequences of racial bias and over-policing youth within communities of color and addresses how to change racial disparities within the legal system.

Andrea Jenkins is the first Black transgender woman to be elected to public office in the United States. She was elected to the Minneapolis City Council with 73% of the vote. She is a poet, and an artist as well as a public official. Andrea is the author of the poetry collection The T is Not Silent, New and Selected Poems, and contributor to the acclaimed anthologies, Queer Voices, Poetry, Prose, and Pride. A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota, and Blues Vision: African American writing from Minnesota. Jenkins is also an oral historian for the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota Libraries documenting the lived experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming people in the upper Midwest and in the United States.

In this episode, the tables turn and Lissa Jones is in the spotlight. Lissa joins Dr. Vanessa Weaver, host of Workin' It Out Podcast to discuss the role of Black authors and literature in the current racial reckoning in her hometown of Minneapolis and across the country.  In this Episode The impact of poet Amanda Gorman The origin of “Black Market Reads” The role of literature in the Black experience How Black authors and literature have influenced Lissa’s approach to diversity and inclusion.  How the racial reckoning in Minneapolis has shaped “Black Market Reads” How “Black Market Reads” has shaped the national conversation about race Links to show resources  Gain fresh insights and learn actionable steps you can take to address the diversity, equity and inclusion challenges in your life. Each week on the Workin’ It Out Podcast, Alignment Strategies’ founder and CEO Dr. Vanessa Weaver interviews thought leaders about DE&I issues in society and the workplace and uncovers solutions that can move us forward. Workin’ It Out is underwritten by Alignment Strategies, LLC and DITV Media.

“Every lie you tell, every secret you keep, is a fragile little thing that must be protected and accounted for…” In this episode Lissa talks with author Wanda M. Morris about her crime thriller, debut novel, All Her Little Secrets Morris is a corporate attorney who has worked in the legal departments for several Fortune 100 companies. An accomplished presenter and leader, Morris has previously served as the President of the Georgia Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and is the founder of its Women's Initiative, an empowerment program for female in-house lawyers. An alumna of the Yale Writer's Workshop and Robert McKee's Story Seminar, she is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America and Crime Writers of Color. 

In this Special Edition of Black Market Reads, in a live production at the Capri Theater, Lissa Jones sits down with Bukata Hayes to talk about the book he co-authored with Stacy Wells, and then hear from a panel of representatives Nneka Sederstrom/Chief Health Equity Officer Hennepin Health Care, Chaz Sandifer/CEO theNEWmpls, and R.T. Rybak/President and CEO The Minneapolis Foundation. Including a reading by Danez Smith from his book Don't Call Us Dead, Summer Somewhere (18:45) This episode brought to you by Stamp-Connect with additional support provided by Hennepin Healthcare, BlueCross Blue Shield Minnesota, s/bes, theNEWmpls, Minneapolis Foundation, Alliant Consulting inc, Minnesota Vikings, JeDunn Construction, Revolution Catering and iDream.tv. Proceeds to benefit The Givens Foundation for African American Literature.   

Black Girls Must Die Exhausted  Like the lead character featured in her new novel Black Girls Must Die Exhausted, our guest today knows all about living life as a successful African American woman and self-proclaimed "serial entrepreneur."   This Harvard Law grad is a popular speaker, thought leader, seasoned business executive, and noted author who writes fiction under her chosen nom de plume, Jayne Allen. The Detroit native and L.A.-based writer began her career as an attorney in the music industry as an executive at Universal Music Group. She later served as a senior digital strategist and business development executive for Lady Gaga and as an attorney and strategist for Prince, whom she credits for teaching her how to truly be an artist.  Tune in for an exciting conversation with Lissa Jones ...

Lissa speaks with Queen of Black Horror Tananarive Due on the re-release of her 1995 debut novel The Between. Due is a leading voice in Black speculative fiction, and teaches about Black horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA. She is also the award-winning author of numerous books and executive produced Shudder's groundbreaking documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. For more episodes visit www.blackmarketreads.com and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

In this episode, we hear from LaTanya McQueen about her debut novel, When the Reckoning Comes which tells the story of Mira, a young Black woman, who travel's home to attend the plantation wedding of a childhood friend and is forced to contend with the traumas of her own childhood - and the historical horrors tied to the place. LaTanya McQueen is also the author of And it Begins Like This, a collection of essays exploring the legacy of slavery and its relationship to contemporary Black female identity. She is an assistant professor of English and creative writing at Coe College in Iowa.

On this episode, Lissa sits down with Resmaa Menakem, the New York Times bestselling author of My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. Resmaa is a therapist, trauma specialist, and the founder of Justice Leadership Solutions a leadership consultancy where he works training business, community, and government leaders in the philosophy and practice of Somatic Abolitionism. Learn more about Resmaa's work at www.resmaa.com

On this episode we’re excited to present a conversation with author, historian, and educator Carol Anderson on her recent work The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America. This conversation was recorded as part of a live virtual event in partnership with Magers & Quinn Booksellers  and Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church in Minneapolis. Carol Anderson is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies at Emory University and author of several works including (but not limited to) White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nation's Divide, a New York Times Bestseller, Washington Post Notable Book of 2016, and a National Book Critics Circle Award winner. and One Person, No Vote:  How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy, which was long-listed for the National Book Award and a finalist for the PEN/Galbraith Award in non-fiction. For more, visit www.BlackMarketReads.com

Essayist, memoirist, and, now, novelist Morgan Jerkins sits down with Lissa Jones. She discusses her inspirations for this story, both from her past (as a teenager she worked in her father's OB/GYN practice) and present (she tells us her character Amara was inspired by Vice President Kamala Harris). Though Caul Baby is a work of fiction with hints of magical realism, it is deeply rooted in the experiences of Black womanhood. More information about her work can be found on her website.

In this episode, Lissa speaks with Javon Johnson, about his new poetry collection, Ain't Never Not Been Black (Button Poetry, 2020). Javon Johnson, Ph.D. is a poet, performer, professor and recipient of numerous awards. According to poet Rudy Francisco, Dr. Johnson is “is one of the most brilliant writers in the world”. This conversation was recorded on April 19, 2021, the day of closing arguments in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd as the case was sent to jury for deliberation in Minneapolis.

Listen to audio of poets reading their work from Can't Stop, Won't Stop: Poems in the wake of racial injustice from a chapbook published by Rain Taxi, recorded on the site of George Floyd Square in Minneapolis by iDream.tv Apnea and Bruxism  by Michael Kleber Diggs a little glimpse  by keno evol Familiar Fruit  by Sagirah Shahid Homeland, Like the Girl who Sang Soweto by Sherrie Fernandez-Williams When I think there aren’t enough buckets to hold this  by Maya Washington Block Party Say It by Douglas Kearney Thembe  by Philip S. Bryant Justi cation/Witness  by Mary Moore Easter L’Etoile du Nord by Bernard James  (copies can be found on Rain Taxi's website).

One of the defining events of the past year, in Minnesota and around the world, was the murder of George Floyd and the international protests demanding justice. In this episode, Lissa speaks with Mary Moore Easter, editor and poet, and James Bernard Short, a poet who lives near the intersection now known as George Floyd Square. The collection is titled Can't Stop Won't Stop the Rain Taxi Chapbook : Poems in response to the murder of George Floyd (copies can be found on Rain Taxi's website). For more, visit BlackMarketReads.com

Launching season six of Black Market Reads, Lissa interviews author Claudia Rankine about her latest work Just Us: An American Conversation (Graywolf Press, 2020). For highlights from the interview, and to listen to past episodes visit www.blackmarketreads.com. If you like the show, leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and tell a friend about the show!

In this episode, author and scholar Dr. Frank B. Wilderson, III on his latest work, Afropessimism. From his youth in Minneapolis to Apartheid South Africa and beyond, Dr. Wilderson has been a committed activist for radical social change. His creative, scholarly, and critical work has been published internationally. He is the author of several books, including Incognegro: Memoir of Exile and Apartheid. And Red, White and Black. Dr. Wilderson is a professor of Drama and African American Studies at the University of California, Irvine.  

Author Carolyn Holbrook discusses her latest work, Tell Me Your Names and I Will Testify, a collection of essays published by the University of Minnesota Press (2020). She is the author of several works including Ordinary People, Extraordinary Journeys, as well as co-author of Hope in the Struggle the memoir of Dr. Josie Johnson. She now leads More Than A Single Story, a series of community conversations for people of color and indigenous writers and arts activists, and teaches at Hamline University. 

In this episode, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker discusses his new book From Generosity to Justice: A New Gospel of Wealth, in which he grapples with the paternalistic roots of American philanthropy and envisions a new approach that seeks to address the causes of inequity, rather than the consequences. He discusses the current state of extreme wealth inequality in America and how this inequality is both the result of systemic racism and a contributor to racial disparities.  We spoke with Mr. Walker via Zoom. You can find more information about how to access the book for free on the Ford Foundation website. For more on this episode and Black Market Reads, visit BlackMarketReads.com

In this episode, a conversation with poet and essayist Justin Phillip Reed about his new poetry collection, The Malevolent Volume (2020). His debut collection, Indecency (2018) won the National Book Award for poetry. To learn more about Justin Phillip Reed, visit his website  Check out more interviews and bonus content at BlackMarketReads.com

In celebration of Black History Month, Black Market Reads participated in an exciting event hosted by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, featuring stunning performances from the Grammy Award-winning musical group Sounds of Blackness. In part one, recorded in the museum galleries, Lissa speaks with Esther Callahan and Keisha Williams, members of the curatorial team responsible for the Mapping Black Identities exhibit now on display at MIA.  In part two, Lissa interviews the iconic Gary Hines, musical director and producer of Sounds of Blackness.

In this episode, Lissa speaks with historian Dr. William D. Green, whose works focus on the history of Black people in Minnesota, and specifically the ongoing struggle for civil rights. Dr. Green is a professor of history at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, and serves as Vice President of the Minnesota Historical Society. He has previously served as Superintendent for the Minneapolis Public Schools. His works on race and civil rights in Minnesota include A Peculiar Imbalance in Early Minnesota: 1837-1869, Degrees of Freedom: The Origin of Civil Rights in Minnesota, 1865-1914, which won the 2015 Minnesota Book Award-Hognander Prize, and The Children of Lincoln: White Paternalism and the Limits of Black Opportunity in Minnesota, 1860–1876.